NORTHAMPTON – Police are seeking a 27-year-old homeless man in connection with last month’s discovery of an illegal methamphetamine lab in the attic of a home adjacent to the Three County Fairgrounds.

The discovery of toxic materials used to manufacture the highly-addictive drug at 227 Bridge St., prompted the temporary evacuation of the home and a full-scale response from city, state and federal investigators and the regional hazardous materials response team.

Police obtained a warrant for the arrest of Edmund Lawrence Bowen earlier this week on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, Capt. Scott A. Savino said.

Police have applied for complaints against three others in connection with the case. Savino, stating that arraignment dates have to be set for the three, declined to give their names.

The captain said, however, that they are a 20-year-old female and 18- and 19-year-old males, all from Northampton.

Methamphetamine is also known as crystal meth.

Property owner Roxy Gantes and her roommate discovered some of the potentially hazardous materials that had apparently crystallized in bottles, while cleaning out a second floor apartment and attic.

They also discovered a large number of hypodermic needles and other assorted bottles, including one or more that contained urine, police said.

The discovery of a so-called meth lab in Western Massachusetts is rare but not unheard of. In 2003, members of the Eastern Hampden County Drug Task Force and Palmer police made one of the largest methampetamine seizures in New England history.The drug cache included more than two pounds of crystal meth confiscated from a home at 317 Old Warren Road in Palmer.

Anthony J. Pettigrew, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Boston said law enforcement personnel have uncovered seven meth labs in New England this year.

The Northampton case, Pettigrew said, is the first in Massachusetts this year.